Puts the past 2000 years of European history in a new light

I can't remember the last time I read such an enlightening history book. The authors' scholarship is impressive, and their theory is absolutely stunning. The authors' premise is that Christianity is an offshoot of Egyptian religion. If this is indeed true, it would explain (albeit not completely) why so many of pagan/mythological themes exist in Christianity. Furthermore, the book convincingly asserts that the early Christian fathers competed with other Judaic sects for preeminence and at the same time felt the need to differentiate themselves from the other religious movements. In presenting supporting evidence for this, the authors provide an explanation as to the origins of some of Christianity's more peculiar characteristics - emphasis on the male, misogyny, mind/body duality, and loathing of the flesh. The book explains how the heretics may have understood the not-so-firm origins of Christianity, and how such knowledge threatened the legitimacy of the established Church. Hence, the Church felt a greater need to punish deviance (which would explain the Inquisition and the Church's general intolerance of bold - especially scientific - ideas during the last 2000 years. Finally, I never felt that the conventional history books gave an adequate explanation for the birth of the Renaissance, which seemed to have sprouted into existence in full bloom after more than a millenium of austerity. The theory presented in this book suggests a more plausible explanation for the birth of the Renaissance and its bold new glorification of humanity: that the heretical/gnostic elements, which had existed in the undercurrents throughout European history, gained momentum and manifested itself as the Renaissance. In short, the book's theory sheds new light and understanding on the developments of the 2000 years of European history.

Be careful!

The most important thing when you start reading this book is to keep an open mind. This openmindedness applies not only to your traditional interpretation of the history of christianity but also to you are being told in this book. The authors, in their investigative quest, challenge many of the established dogmas of the catholic religion and the relation of historical characters to those dogmas. However, in their plight to shake the established convictions, the authors indulge in extensive spells of speculation. Most of the evidence supporting the derived conclusions, is highly subjective. Therefore, the extracted conclusions end up being nothing more than an interpretation alternative to the established one and as subjective as this last. I would judge the main contribution of this book to be the illustration of how a history full of loopholes can be moulded to fit the convictions of the reader.

A Must - saves reading a load of other books too.

I put down "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", wrote my review and then picked this up. After this review I will take up "The Woman with the Alabaster Jar" I have not read works in the genre before because I have been doing my own investigations and didn't want the distraction of the enthusiastic ideas of others - just facts where needed. But now it is in the thoughts of many so I must see whats here. (At the same time as enjoying Euro (soccer) 2004 here in Portugal- "The rise of the Sons of Sir Stanley Matthews". On the TV I saw a woman reading the "DaVinci Code" in the crowd during a lull in the match!)

I give this a five - primarily because the authors stick to their brief which is to ferret out the core HISTORICAL beliefs of the Templar/Priory of Sion group and its fellow travellers. They fulfil this brief very well. My only gripes are firstly that they "go native" in that they show themselves enthusiasts for the beliefs implied in the "Priory Narrative" and show themselves comfortable with that (particularly the "John Narrative" and its take on the "Magdalene's Crew" story). This is not surprising because they show themselves ill equiped to follow further into the female mystery by tossing off an aside about what a bind it must have been for Eve to sew. It presumably would be a bind for this evident "Sister of Artemis" to break from her running with the boys to learn the exquisite mystery of the finger and the thread - as it would to be "menial" to carry water - as did the only other woman to be alone with the Lord Jesus - and to be told the truth about herself - like Magdalena).

The other failing is more serious in the context of their brief - that is that they are most careful not to mention the group know as the Druse. They were in the right place at the right time - like the Alawi they seem to honour the Baptist and Magdalena (The latter celebrate their feasts above muslim feasts) - unlike the Alawi and the John Church in the Iraqi Marshes they believe both in the value of women and of reincarnation. I presume there is another book coming on them - if they are ommitted through ignorance then I'm afraid I send their thesis back for more work.

The thing the Druse have that the other groups do not have is a belief in the power and revelationary capability of village life - their young folk - initiates or lay - do not flee to the cities - they have learnt to manage the lust for "Stuff'n'Status" which the Priory of Sion has not.

There are those who believe that "Knowledge is Power". Folk who believe this cannot have their eyes opened to let them read knowledge directly from creation as need requires - they must have it well packaged and second-hand from an organised "wisdom peddlar (Simon Magus et al) so that it relates to the other tangible and ownable ingredients of their lives. This is because those with wealth ("Liquid Power") cannot have it any other way. Like most folk of privilege they are picky eaters - but the work hard for the rest of us. They mush have congealed knowledge - they cannot go to the fount and get it liquid - let alone return with it elegant in a pitcher on their heads.

What should you/they read next? Try the portuguese/gallician "Trovadors" - as their name implies they "found". Their 'Cantigas d'Amigo' are songs of the female to the male at the high-point of tantric ecstasy. She (always a humble girl) goes to the fount outside the village to wash her hair - sometimes with her mother. She lets down her hair (Magdalena would not gave gone about with hers loose any more than she would have shown her breasts in public) - the waters stir - the nearby commotion is a stag.

Because the egyptians built vast buildings and wrote stuff down - and knew (and wrote indelibly) that "the sky was blue and water was wet" - does not mean that the rest of us and our "anointed voluntary victim" (cf Wicca, Witch, etymology) Lord Jesus needed them to tell us or Him. When St James came to this valley in Portugal he rested after crossing miles of high heath - he spoke a little and that was enough - the folk here, illiterate though they were, already knew the story - James ("Son of Thunder") just brought the punch-line. The job was done - the magic was worked - the laws of Karma were modified and crucially THAT HIS NAME WAS JESUS. (NB 2 "s" among other things.

Our local big church was an Isis Temple, and this whole Lima valley was a virtual "Sufi State" for many years. Still is - still is. Her cow is still revered - His wool still gathered - pinch by marvelous pinch. By the unconsidered poor going about their everyday work.